Florida water advocates may have to put hopes on ice

Thursday

Feb 20, 2014 at 9:40 PM

By Jim TurnerNews Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Advocates of cleaning Florida’s threatened rivers, bays and natural springs will have to tread water for a few more legislative sessions.Two large water measures are floating in the Senate this year. And at least 200 water advocates from across the state rallied outside the Historic Capitol on Tuesday. But next year will probably bring a better chance for more comprehensive reforms.House Speaker Will Weatherford told The News Service of Florida last week that he is “sensitive” to the Senate’s yet-to-be-released natural springs proposal and an equally comprehensive measure pushed by Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, that would redirect and improve the quality of Lake Okeechobee water.But the House will focus this session on issues “we can control, Weatherford said.“I think we’ll tackle a lot of the funding issues, this year,” Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said. “I think there is an opportunity for us to address some of the policies issues, but water is so broad, you have water quality, you have water quantity, water infrastructure and how we move water resources.”Weatherford has also deferred water policy issues to Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who has said he wants to make water a priority when he becomes speaker in 2015.Weatherford’s approach means that large portions of the nearly $380 million springs effort — controlling the amounts of fertilizers allowed into waterways, redirecting waste water, and replacing septic systems at no charge to homeowners — may have to wait another year. Instead, Senate budget chief Negron’s efforts to reduce impacts of Lake Okeechobee releases in South Florida will take priority.Next month’s updated forecast from state economists will help determine how much money is available for the projects, said Negron, R-Stuart. Negron’s plan would cost $220 million, including $160 million in the first year.“I would agree, it’s advantageous for what I’m trying to do to have the focus on funding,” Negron replied when asked about Weatherford’s water outlook. Negron on Tuesday sent a letter to Congress asking that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers no longer have sole jurisdiction over the lake releases and requesting money for a water storage project to help the Caloosahatchee region.The Sierra Club, 1000 Friends of Florida, Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Sierra Club, Florida Wildlife Federation, Silver Springs Alliance, Our Sante Fe River, and other water advocates rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday. The groups are demanding that lawmakers tackle the entire spectrum of water-related issues, including the quality and quantity of the state’s drinking-water sources, the state’s freshwater springs, the Apalachicola River region and South Florida.“What will the value of the Florida brand be when the dirty reality of Florida’s water eclipses our sterling reputation,” asked John Moran of the Springs Eternal Project. “Talk about a game-changer; what do you suppose will happen when our reputation, like our formerly pristine waters, reaches the tipping point and the stench of dead and dying pelicans and manatees and dolphins is exceeded only by the stench of our dying tourism economy?”Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $55 million for the springs in the coming year, a $45 million increase from the current year.Sen. Wilton Simpson, one of the architects of the Senate’s springs proposal, drew cheers from the crowd when he spoke of the plan. Simpson, R-Trilby, said later he isn’t troubled by Weatherford’s stance.“I think we’ve got an ambitious agenda in the Senate, but I think we are on the right track,” Simpson said. “It will take a few years to fully ramp up and be able to spend a $150, $200, $300 million a year. But at least with the path known, our agencies — DEP, the water basin boards — can start planning for these projects.”